This article describes how hexadecimal numbers, alphanumeric entries, and
numerical entries are interpreted when you import them into Microsoft
Excel.
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Hexadecimal Numbers
Hexadecimal numbers may not be correctly interpreted when you import them
into Excel. Because Excel reads certain hexadecimal
numbers, such as 06E2, as scientific notation, the hexadecimal number 06E2
will be imported as 6.00E+02 or as 600 in the decimal format.
You can maintain a hexadecimal number's original format by selecting the text option found
under "Column Data Format" in Step 3 of 3 of the Text Import Wizard. The
Wizard will automatically start when opening a text file.
Alphanumeric
Alphanumeric entries, in which "e" or "E" is the only alpha character
in the string and "e" or "E" is not the first or last character
in the string, are interpreted as exponential numbers. For example, 123E4
will be interpreted as 123*(10)^4
To have this number interpreted as text, it also must be entered
as ="123E4" in the text file.
Numeric
A numeric entry in the file, such as "1234," is imported as a number,
not as text, and is aligned to the right.
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